The Trinity is an insightful guide to one of the core beliefs of the Christian faith, providing beginning theology readers with a basic knowledge of the doctrine of God's triune nature. Concise, practical, and up-to-date, this perceptive book offers a detailed historical and theological description of one of the central and most distinctive doctrines of the Christian Faith—the triune nature of God. Tracing its development from the first days of Christianity through the Medieval and Reformation Ages and into the Modern Age, special attention is given to early church controversies and church fathers as well as to its twentieth-century renaissance.
This survey examines the impact of such figures as Augustine, Anselm, and Richard St. Victor on Trinity theology and also covers some of the heresies committed by Abelard and Michael Severus. A discussion of the rise of Unitarianism and Deism is very astute and helps us to better understand the impact of these influences as Trinitarian thought matured. A must read for anyone remotely interested in the Trinity, and although simple, it is not simplistic. In this work, Olson and Hall start from the beginning of the Trinitarian debates and lead you on an amazing ride through history as new thoughts on this essential doctrine were developed. In the book’s second part, three of the finest contributors to the contemporary Trinitarian renaissance are presented. Leonardo Boff (Trinity and Society), Catherine Mowry LaCugna (God for US: The Trinity and Christian Life), and John D. Zizioulas (Being as Communion: Studies in Personhood and the Church) have each argued a similar thesis with distinct emphasis: that the Doctrine of the Trinity expresses not metaphysical mumbo-jumbo, but “the mystery of salvation”.
The third part of this helpful work contains a detailed, annotated bibliography of most of the major books written about the Trinity, including patristic contributions from early Anti-Nicene, Alexandrian, and Latin sources, and from key eastern figures from the Age of Nicea and beyond. Also featured are medieval, reformation and post-reformation resources as well as contributions from the twentieth-century renaissance.
